The snack room was always loud. Bags crinkling. Soda cans snapping open. Jin lecturing someone about eating chips before a shoot. Jimin taking two cookies even while saying he only wanted one. Yoongi pretending he didn't care, but grabbing the spiciest crackers every time.
Today had a different pull in the air.
The door shut behind them and the group fell into their usual little patterns.
Jin went straight to the counter. "No one touches the strawberry yogurt. It belongs to me."
Namjoon lifted the yogurt without looking. Jin grabbed his wrist before he even blinked. "Put that down."
Namjoon set it back. "I was testing your reflexes."
"You failed the test," Jin said.
Meanwhile, Jimin leaned against the counter scrolling through his phone. Yoongi stood beside him, quiet but there. Comfortable. Jimin's shoulder brushed Yoongi's arm every few seconds. Not on purpose, but not accidental either.
Yoongi noticed.
Jimin noticed him noticing.
Neither said anything.
Taehyung and Jungkook moved slower than the others. Natural. Unplanned. Their steps synced without trying. They stood by the mini fridge like they were deciding on what drink to take, but neither opened the door.
They were too aware of each other.
Taehyung broke the silence first. "You didn't get in trouble."
Jungkook kept his eyes on the fridge. "I always get in trouble."
"Not with me."
Jungkook looked up then. Quick. Too quick. Taehyung caught it and smiled, sharp and warm at the same time.
Jungkook looked away before he drowned in that gaze.
Behind them, Jimin cleared his throat loudly. "I know this atmosphere. I can feel it."
Yoongi didn't even glance up. "Stop talking."
"But it feels suspicious."
"Stop talking."
Jimin grinned and leaned a little closer into Yoongi's side. "You sound jealous."
Yoongi took a bite of his crackers in silence. His eyes flicked once toward Jimin. Soft. Annoyed. Fond. He swallowed. "Eat your cookie."
Jimin did, smiling like he won something.
Across the room, Jin tossed a bag of chips to Namjoon. "Catch."
Namjoon dropped it.
Jin sighed. "You need help."
"I am fine," Namjoon insisted while bending to pick it up.
"You are not fine," Jin replied.
The soft chaos filled the room, but under it, something else simmered. Something warm and young and delicate.
Taehyung finally opened the fridge. "What do you want?"
"I don't know," Jungkook said.
Taehyung pulled out two drinks and handed one over. "Then take this. I know you like it."
Jungkook didn't reach for it immediately. His fingers brushed Taehyung's hand. A tiny touch. Barely there. But the moment stretched anyway. Heat traveled up Jungkook's arm before he pulled away.
Taehyung watched him too closely.
Jungkook opened the can. "Thanks."
Taehyung's voice dropped to a quiet register. "We have to be careful."
"We are," Jungkook said.
Taehyung tilted his head. "Are we?"
Jungkook swallowed. "We are trying."
Before Taehyung could say anything else, the door swung open.
A staff member rushed in. Breathless. Eyes wide.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said. "But… the new photos are out."
Namjoon paused mid sip. "What photos?"
"Someone leaked your walk-in shots from this morning. The ones from the hallway before the studio."
Jimin blinked. "Leak leak or official release leak?"
"Leak leak," she said.
The room quieted. The playful noise evaporated.
Jin straightened.
Yoongi tensed barely but noticeably.
Taehyung and Jungkook exchanged a glance that was too fast, too sharp, too full.
The staff member held up her phone. "It's trending already. And they're using… this angle."
She turned the screen.
It showed Taehyung and Jungkook from earlier, that small moment before they entered the studio. Jungkook adjusting Taehyung's necklace. Taehyung looking at him with that soft, private gaze.
Zoomed in. Cropped perfectly. Suspicious.
Namjoon rubbed his forehead. "Not again."
Jimin whispered under his breath. "This one looks… real."
Taehyung felt the air shift. He could almost hear the panic forming behind Jungkook's silence.
Yoongi stepped forward, voice steady. "We will handle it."
Jin nodded. "We always do."
Namjoon looked at the group. "We stick together. We stay steady. No overreactions."
Jungkook finally spoke. "What do we do next?"
Everyone turned to him.
Taehyung felt something in his chest tighten.
Namjoon answered calmly. "We go back to the schedule. Then tonight, we go live."
Jimin raised an eyebrow. "A group live?"
Namjoon shook his head. "No. The two of you."
The room froze again.
Jungkook's eyes widened.
Taehyung felt heat rush to his ears.
Yoongi muttered, "Bold choice."
Jin added, "Risky."
Namjoon looked determined. "Controlled is better than chaos."
Taehyung glanced at Jungkook.
Jungkook looked right back.
For a moment, neither looked away.
A live. Tonight.
Together.
Not to confirm.
Not to deny.
But to steady the storm.
Taehyung exhaled.
Jungkook nodded once.
And the group moved as one again, gathering their things, preparing for the next part of the day, but the tension had changed. It had grown. It had sharpened.
Tonight would shift something.
Whether they were ready or not.